Christmas Steampunk Costume Design

I want to share with you my Steampunk Christmas Creation. I designed this look for a photo shoot I was apart of in December. 

It was a super fun challenge to melt Steampunk and Christmas together. I was going for a Steampunk Christmas inspired Elf. I really enjoyed working on this outfits and love how it turned out in the photos. Here are some photos from concept to creation! Enjoy!

Getting Dirty! How to Create Realistic Special Effects Dirt

Getting Dirty! How to Create Realistic Special Effects Dirt

In my last Pirate blog we talked about “Taking your Pirate Garb to the next level and Making it Look Real” though distressing and I provided several techniques to accomplish this.

However, we don’t want to go to a festival with our garb looking warn and distressed and look like we just showered and dressed for the faire. It is important that the entire character comes together in a believable package. In order to accomplish this one must enter the world of special effects makeup. Of course there are all kinds of high end products available from the makeup industry and with trial and error you can find the ones that work best for you. These products are all available online, at haunt cons and special effects makeup cons and makeup/costumes outlets.

In this tutorial I would like to discuss the low budget, do it yourself “Dirt Makeup” for Pirating with resources you probably already have around the house or campfire.

Now when you are applying dirt you want to think about covering the areas of your body that do not have clothes: face, neck, arms (if uncovered), hands, calves if you are wearing slops or legs if you are wearing a skirt.

Materials Needed:

-       Sunscreen

-       Charcoal or Star Blend Cake Makeup

-       Oreo Cookies

Step One:

Add the Grease-

Apply a high spf sunscreen to your exposed skin. You want to protect your skin from the sun for the duration of your festival experience, and application after the “Makeup Dirt” is applied is a little messy. Also if you choose a greasy sunscreen it can help adhere the “dirt” and add the look of sweat and “grease,” perfect for creating a hot, dirty, pirate persona.

Step Two:

Add the Dirt-

A tip my Pirate Captain, Jeff MacKay shared with me – “Charcoal”!! Natural Charcoal works perfectly for a really safe and realistic looking dirt and it won’t cost you anything. Simply look around your fireplace at home, your BBQ Pit or the campfire for a nice piece of natural charcoal (NOT HOT) and not charcoal brickets that are pretreated with a lighter fluid.  Again, DO NOT USE brickets such as Kingsford Charcoal, use only natural charcoal produced from burned wood fires.

Helpful tip: Crush the natural charcoal into a black powder and put into a zip lock baggy. You may want to keep this in your pocket for reapplication at the pirate festival.

Net you are going to want to rub the charcoal around your finger nail beds, on the tops of your hands, around your neck and face, on your arms and legs – all the exposed areas. Just like distressing the clothes, you will want to put the dirt in most natural and realistic areas of your body.

Charcoal is of course not the only option. You can also use a special effects makeup like Star Blend Cake Makeup in a dark brown, mixed with a oily sunscreen like Aloe Gator to create a “dirt paste.” Application is the same.

Helpful Tip: Wipe your hands on your clothes throughout the process to add the realistic layering of dirt to your clothes as well.

Step Three:

Pirate Grin-

Now that our clothing and appearance are cohesive, we need to do something about our pirate grin. This is the most fun part of the process and it’s tasty too. You will need to half chew some Oreo Cookies and get them nicely ground into the gums around your front teeth and then smile pretty! This is another stolen makeup trick I am pirating for my Captain J.

Helpful Tip: Keep a bag of Oreo Cookies in your other pocket to munch on and for reapplication during the festival.

You can also purchase special effects tooth paint for the rotten teeth look. It can be purchased from special effects makeup stores. It is called “special effects tooth paint”. It does take some skill and technique when applying to make it look real and it’s not nearly as much fun or as tasty as Oreos.

Your Authentic Dirty Pirate is complete! Enjoy the festivities in true pirate spirit.

Thanks for reading!

DIY Mermaid Shell Tops

DIY Mermaid Shell Tops

Let’s dive into the easy, cheap, and fast way to make a DIY Mermaid Shell Top. First stop, the Dollar Store. The Dollar Store, seasonally sells “Bikini Tops” that are plastic shells with white strings. (If you don’t have a Dollar Store in your area you can also purchase them online) You can find them in the “Luau Party” Section. These are perfect for the DIY Mermaid Shell Top. Be sure to stock up during the summer as you can’t find them in the winter and the possibilities are limitless. You might want to keep a few pairs of these on hand.

Step 1

Supplies:

You will need: scissors, plastic paint, glitter or studs, glue, clear bra strap material, paint brush, clear protective spray. Other options: bikini top, ribbon, string, other sea accessories for adorning your shells etc. You can find all of these materials at Walmart or your local craft store.

Step 2

Remove the white strings from the shells. You can toss them aside or throw them out, as we won’t be using them in this project.

Step 3

You will want to paint the shells with plastic safe paint. There are many options on the market. You can be as creative as you want with this step. You can use several colors and blend them to match your tail. You can customize them as much or as little as you wish. For simplicity I have chosen a solid color of gold metallic, (as seen in photo 1). Let dry completely.

Step 4

You can accessorize your shells with glitter or by gluing on little sea creatures or other shells. However, I chose to embellish my shells with green rhinestones. Attach them to the shells using a glue gun (as seen in photo 2).

Step 5

Next, I spray the finished product with a clear protective spray, and let dry completely.

Step 6

You can then use the holes already drilled into your shells to add your straps. I have used clear bra strap material in photo 3.

However, you have many options: You can use string, ribbon, you can use a triangle bikini top and run the string of the bikini top through the holes. I have done this with several of my tops and it provides a great deal of comfort and extra support and you can purchase a top for less than five dollars. Another option is to adhere your shells to a bra or bathing suit top and add fish net, seaweed and other accessories.

Look through my photo galleries on my facebook page where you can see many of these designs. https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaThePirate

And now you are ready to hit the water with your tail and new DIY Mermaid Shell Top. It’s easy and quick and very inexpensive. With more time and resources you can take this basic tutorial and elaborate on the design and really create some amazing shells. Remember to have fun, be creative and be original.

Thanks for reading.

Take your Pirate Garb to the next level – Make it look real!!

Take your Pirate Garb to the next level – Make it look real!!

We all want to look like “real” pirates who have recently washed up from a long voyage, hopefully with gold in our hold. The distress, weathered look doesn’t just happen after your first festival, not even after a year of events…. It has to be forced if you want to look the part.  Truthfully, the more dirty the pirate and more aged, distressed and weathered the clothes are the more believable the character.

So I will share with you in this “How To be a Pirate” Tutorial just how to get the “real” pirate look I know you aRe after.

Step One:

Fitting-

Make sure your clothes fit the way you want them to. They don’t have to fit in modern day standards because it wasn’t unlikely that the clothes of a pirate might be a small fit or just a bit big as most pirates didn’t have a seamstress on hand nor did they purchase their clothing at the local big box store – it’s more likely they stole them. But your clothes do need to fit your character and your body comfortable. Think about wearing your outfit all day at a hot pirate festival or walking in a pirate parade – it’s not a Halloween costume that you just have to survive until the parties over. It’s your Pirate Clothes! Never think of it as a costume!!

Step Two:

Size up-

Size up your clothing and decide just how much damage your willing to inflict. It’s best to again think of your character and the persona you are trying to portray. The lower your status the more rugged your clothes should be. You want to have an informal plan on how much your willing to distress your clothing – because you don’t want to get carried away with the creative process and lose to much of the actual integrity of the clothing item – again you want to think of this as clothing and you want to wear it to many events to come.

Step Three:

Wash-

Wash your clothing! I know clean isn’t the look we are going for, however, a good wash will help the cloth feel good against your skin, get them clean for use (after all we are not going to use real dirt), and allow the aging process to start, as you will begin to break down the material fibers and allow for some colors to bleed and threads to loosen.

Step Four:

Tea Time-

Make some tea! Broil tea bags in a big pan, allowing the tea to get nice and dark. I also like to throw in some dark coffee. Now place your pirate clothing in the tea/coffee water to set for a few hours…. You can stir occasionally, or as needed, but not to much, I really like the look of the tea stain when it darkens in the creases and unevenly over the fabric… really adds a natural dirt and rustic look that can’t be beat!

Step Five:

Antique-

While the fabric is still damp I like to add some antiquing and well placed, distress stains. You can mix a dark coffee brew for this procedure or dilute a little paint (brown works best) in water and literally paint on your clothing in the areas that would naturally be the dirtiest. For example I like to add sweat rings under the arms, a little around the neck and down the back and the cuffs…. Anywhere you would naturally sweat, get dirty, wipe your hands, pockets, skirt hem, etc.

Step Six:

Distress (Artificially make old)-

After your clothing has dried, it's time to start distressing the material. Starting at the edges, take a razor and lightly break the material. Just lightly go over areas that would again naturally be used more than others – this will allow it to look naturally frayed. Use caution not to cut too much or cut yourself. You may also want to add a few rips and tears. A natural way to do this is with sandpaper and to rub the fabric – going against the grain until it begins to tear or wears through. This again should be done in strategic areas that would receive the most wear and tear. When tearing, cutting, or sanding place a piece of cardboard or wood between layers of fabric so you don’t go through to the other side of the garment.

Step Seven:

Add Some Sun-

Particularly if your clothes are dark you want them to look sun bleached, lightened by age and by the spray of sea salt. To do this add a little bleach to water in a spray bottle… you will want to test this inside the clothing if possible… you can also apply with a sponge… be careful not to get to much… you can always add more as you go and it does dry lighter… so let it dry prior to deciding if you need to add more. Again strategically spray the mix where the sun would naturally lighten the clothing after many years at sea. On a captains coat this would be the back of the shoulders, slightly on the upper section of the arms (never under the arms or down the sides).

Step Eight:

Add some Character-

Now it’s time to add some character. Again think of your persona and who you are as a pirate – this will allow you to add your own creativity to this step. I think its best to lose a few buttons, and replace a few with non-matching replacements. Sew a few patches on by hand (strategic placement). Each step can add to your characters story and help develop your persona – making you a real pirate.

These are only a few suggestions to get that “real” pirate look for your next festival or event. I recommend really thinking about who you are as a pirate and where you have come from so that your clothes can help tell your story and add as proof – credibility to being “real”. Of course you can always distress them by taking them to the shooting range, playing tug a war with your dog, throwing an axe at them, leaving them in the driveway for a few days or burying them in your yard…. Do what works best for you and your crew.

Thanks for reading I hope this helps further your pirate fun and I can’t wait to see what you have created at the next pirate gathering!

If you would like to see photos of pirate clothing I have distressed please visit 

http://www.mackaypiratefamily.com/character-models

Thanks